Can adding points to the new Maple Leaf logo lead to extra points in the NHL standings?

The club hopes so as it unveiled its new crest for the 2016-17 centennial season and beyond late Tuesday night.

Those old enough to recall the team’s golden era, from 1942-64 when nine of the franchise’s 13 Stanley Cups were won, will recognize the ‘classic’ Leaf that was first created in the 1938-39 season and stayed mostly untouched until the mid-’60s. After the team began life as the Toronto Arenas in 1917 and later the St. Patricks, Conn Smythe bought the club 89 years ago this month and named it in part for the badge Canadian soldiers proudly wore in the First World War.

But after a long drought between the 1967 title and the post Harold Ballard years where a rather bland 11-point Leaf was the primary crest, the old design was gradually brought back, first on shoulder patches in ’92-93 and then on various third jerseys. But the finer details inside the logo will now carry more historical significance.

The new emblem will have 31 points, a nod to Smythe’s opening of Maple Leaf Gardens in 1931, which was also a Cup season. The 17 winding veins within the Leaf will mark the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the franchise and the NHL. The 13 veins at the top will represent all of Toronto’s Cups.

The Leafs, with help from NHL consultants, designed the changes.

“As an organization, we wanted to get back to our roots,” club president Brendan Shanahan said. “Smythe wanted his team to wear the badge with ‘honour, pride and courage.’ This is our goal for the next chapter in Leafs history.

“We are committed to restoring the Leafs to a proud and prominent place and this classic logo will connect the team’s championship legacy with an exciting and proud future for our players, our city and for our fans.”

This year’s Leafs, beginning yet another rebuilding phase, are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the 10th time in 11 years. Most players who were given a sneak peak of the logo in the past few days approved of it, though how many will be around after the Feb. 29 NHL trade deadline and another summer of roster upheaval is unknown.

The logo will be incorporated in new sweaters to be unveiled at the 2016 draft as full celebrations to mark the centennial begin, such as additions to the Legends Row of statues outside the ACC. The AHL Marlies will also retain a smaller version of the new Leaf in their own famous crown logo.

If team fortunes do rise in the next few years, it’s expected business in club apparel and souvenirs with the new logo will do quite well, though the Leafs have done good business overall despite their poor playoff record.

New Leafs logo honours glory days of storied franchise

Can adding points to the new Maple Leaf logo lead to extra points in the NHL standings?

The club hopes so as it unveiled its new crest for the 2016-17 centennial season and beyond late Tuesday night.

Those old enough to recall the team’s golden era, from 1942-64 when nine of the franchise’s 13 Stanley Cups were won, will recognize the ‘classic’ Leaf that was first created in the 1938-39 season and stayed mostly untouched until the mid-’60s. After the team began life as the Toronto Arenas in 1917 and later the St. Patricks, Conn Smythe bought the club 89 years ago this month and named it in part for the badge Canadian soldiers proudly wore in the First World War.